You’re so vain, you probably think the verse is about you

February 8, 2014

We have all witnessed it: The young talentless and clueless person on stage in one of those singing shows. It almost seems a bit fake at first, but as they begin to cry it becomes convincing, and we start to hear them speak in disbelief, as if they are the part of some sort of practical joke, and in all reality they aren’t bad as the reactions from the judges would suggest, but are actually good at what they are attempting. We see this all of the time in our daily lives, and it is no more apparent in our culture; this notion that a person thinks “I was born to do this”, when from the outside, it is quite apparent it isn’t what they should be doing. It is a pride thing, as well as a false image thing.

Does anyone ever read the bible with a Calvinist perspective and think that just as easily as someone can read it to be certain of salvation, another can read it and be certain salvation will never be theirs? Let us be honest; this is what the system entails. For every elect there is one, if not more who are not in the redemptive plan of Christ. So, by my estimation, this means that more so than not, those who are reading the bible are on the outskirts of God’s favor. Notice though, nobody ever reads it as if they are not in fact Jacob. Everyone reads it like they are the pretty princess at the ball, and if I were to guess, which can be a dangerous thing, I would guess that a Calvinist would hear this and think that the non elect probably do fool themselves into believing that they are counted among the elect, when in fact they are wolves in sheep clothing.

However, one must wonder as to how a person can determine if they are one or the other. With so much a stake, and a system that prides itself on the finished work of Christ being a covering, and done and paid for 2000 years ago which is yours at the switch of sola fide , then I must assert that this very problem is scary enough to turn this therapeutic soteriology on its head.

What one is left with is the reality that we can only rest on personal experiences, however,the problem is that personal experiences are impossible to compare. Though similarities in euphoria can seem comparable, one would imagine that those kids on stage that are so blind to their lack of talent experience some type of euphoria in believing they are in fact “called by God to sing”.

Even more; I wonder how it is with such doctrines as total depravity that we can even trust ourselves with such a decision. We are fallible, aren’t we? This was one of the tenets in rejecting tradition if I remember correctly.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that the sales pitch of sola fide rests upon Christ’s finished work, however, it might not just be for you, and that takes the wind out of such a statement going from relaxing to nightmarish.